With the beginning of Holy Week, I will be taking a week off from blogging so as to spend as much time as possible in prayer, which, in reality, will be considerably less than usual and certainly far less than I would like. Unfortunately, I cannot take a week off from traveling and am sad that I will be on a plane between Ohio and Texas Thursday evening, which means that I will miss Maundy Thursday Mass, which is one of my favorites. (The year that Fr. Greg, a priest assigned to our parish on an interim basis, was here, 2007, I was one of the 12 whose feet he washed; then he asked the 12 of us to wash the feet of everyone in the church -- it took a long time, but it was a very good experience for everyone.)
I even have to work on Good Friday this year. Usually I can manage my schedule so that I can get off work. Fortunately, the senior manager I am traveling with is also Catholic, and I have charged him with finding us a Mass in San Antonio. I hear that there is a wonderful cathedral near the Alamo. (He is reliable; we have attended Mass together during our required travels in Korea and in Germany at churches that he has tracked down.) I have told our San Antonio branch that once we know the time of Mass, they will have to work my meetings around that time. I will be back early Saturday afternoon, in time for Easter vigil at Old Mission, which is where I really prefer to be -- in my little town which one visitor once called "namolein" (Russian: "saturated in prayer").
While I am gone, I recommend reading scripture (of course) and those blogs that I routinely read and will be reading for inspiration and reflection this week; they seem especially appropriate for Holy Week:
Blessed Is the Kingdom (Fr. Christian Mathis)
A Concord Pastor Comments (Fr. Austin Fleming)
A Minor Friar (Br. Charles)
Bear Witness to the Light (Fr. John Sullivan)
Catholic Spiritual Direction (Fr. John Bartunek)
Glory to God for All Things (Father Stephen)
Portiuncula: The Little Portion (Fra Chris Dickson)
Praise and Bless (Br. Charles; yes, he also writes A Minor Friar)
I will be back after Easter, and I wish all of you a wonderful, blessed week and as much time as you want to spend with God.
(Photo: Wallpaperoriginals.com)
I hope you had a wonderful Easter, Elizabeth. Know that you are in my daily prayers.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pennyyak!
ReplyDeleteFra Chris, I did have a wonderful Easter, especially because I refused to travel and stayed home where I could spend the Triduum at Old Mission. THANK you for your prayers. Though I don’t deserve them, I do need them because every day I mess up in some way – not kind enough, not loving enough, not patient enough, not understanding enough. Sheesh! God made me awfully imperfect! Now I am dependent upon God to fix all those problems and inadequacies. (Well, as many as possible…)So, I am grateful for all the prayers I can get! :)